| 1897–98 FA Cup | |
| Country: | |
| Defending Champions: | Aston Villa |
| Winners: | Nottingham Forest |
| Second: | Derby County |
| Prev Season: | 1896–97 |
| Next Season: | 1898–99 |
The 1897–98 FA Cup was the 27th season of the world's oldest association football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (more usually known as the FA Cup). The cup was won by Nottingham Forest, who defeated Derby County 3–1 in the final of the competition, played at Crystal Palace in London.
Matches were scheduled to be played at the stadium of the team named first on the date specified for each round, which was always a Saturday. If scores were level after 90 minutes had been played, a replay would take place at the stadium of the second-named team later the same week. If the replayed match was drawn further replays would be held at neutral venues until a winner was determined. If scores were level after 90 minutes had been played in a replay, a 30-minute period of extra time would be played.
The format of the FA Cup for the season had a preliminary round, five qualifying rounds, three proper rounds, and the semi-finals and final.
| Round | Date | |
|---|---|---|
| Preliminary round | Saturday 18 September 1897 | |
| First round qualifying | Saturday 25 September 1897 | |
| Second round qualifying | Saturday 16 October 1897 | |
| Third round qualifying | Saturday 30 October 1897 | |
| Fourth round qualifying | Saturday 20 November 1897 | |
| Fifth round Qualifying | Saturday 11 December 1898 | |
| First round proper | Saturday 29 January 1898 | |
| Second round proper | Saturday 12 February 1898 | |
| Third round proper | Saturday 26 February 1898 | |
| Semi-finals | Saturday 19 March 1898 | |
| Final | Saturday 16 April 1898 |
The first round proper contained sixteen ties between 32 teams. The 16 First Division sides were given a bye to this round, as were Newton Heath, Burnley, Leicester Fosse, Grimsby Town, Walsall and Manchester City from the Second Division. The other Second Division sides were entered into the third qualifying round. Of those sides, only Newcastle United, Woolwich Arsenal, Luton Town and Gainsborough Trinity qualified to the FA Cup proper. Six non-league sides also qualified.
The matches were played on Saturday, 29 January 1898. One match was drawn, with the replay taking place in the following midweek fixture.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burnley | 3–1 | Woolwich Arsenal | 29 January 1898 | |
| 2 | Bury | 1–2 | Stoke | 29 January 1898 | |
| 3 | Liverpool | 2–0 | Hucknall St Johns | 29 January 1898 | |
| 4 | Preston North End | 1–2 | Newcastle United | 29 January 1898 | |
| 5 | Southampton | 2–1 | Leicester Fosse | 29 January 1898 | |
| 6 | Notts County | 0–1 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 29 January 1898 | |
| 7 | Nottingham Forest | 4–0 | Grimsby Town | 29 January 1898 | |
| 8 | Long Eaton Rangers | 0–1 | Gainsborough Trinity | 29 January 1898 | |
| 9 | West Bromwich Albion | 2–0 | New Brighton Tower | 29 January 1898 | |
| 10 | Sunderland | 0–1 | The Wednesday | 29 January 1898 | |
| 11 | Derby County | 1–0 | Aston Villa | 29 January 1898 | |
| 12 | Luton Town | 0–1 | Bolton Wanderers | 29 January 1898 | |
| 13 | Everton | 1–0 | Blackburn Rovers | 29 January 1898 | |
| 14 | Newton Heath | 1–0 | Walsall | 29 January 1898 | |
| 15 | Sheffield United | 1–1 | Burslem Port Vale | 29 January 1898 | |
| Replay | Burslem Port Vale | 2–1 | Sheffield United | 2 February 1898 | |
| 16 | Manchester City | 1–0 | Wigan County | 29 January 1898 |
The eight Second Round matches were scheduled for Saturday, 12 February 1898. There were two replays, played in the following midweek fixture.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burnley | 3–0 | Burslem Port Vale | 12 February 1898 | |
| 2 | Southampton | 1–0 | Newcastle United | 12 February 1898 | |
| 3 | Stoke | 0–0 | Everton | 12 February 1898 | |
| Replay | Everton | 5–1 | Stoke | 17 February 1898 | |
| 4 | Nottingham Forest | 4–0 | Gainsborough Trinity | 12 February 1898 | |
| 5 | Bolton Wanderers | 1–0 | Manchester City | 12 February 1898 | |
| 6 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0–1 | Derby County | 12 February 1898 | |
| 7 | West Bromwich Albion | 1–0 | The Wednesday | 12 February 1898 | |
| 8 | Newton Heath | 0–0 | Liverpool | 12 February 1898 | |
| Replay | Liverpool | 2–1 | Newton Heath | 16 February 1898 |
The four Third Round matches were scheduled for Saturday, 26 February 1898. There were two replays, played in the following midweek fixture.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burnley | 1–3 | Everton | 26 February 1898 | |
| 2 | Bolton Wanderers | 0–0 | Southampton | 26 February 1898 | |
| Replay | Southampton | 4–0 | Bolton Wanderers | 2 March 1898 | |
| 3 | West Bromwich Albion | 2–3 | Nottingham Forest | 26 February 1898 | |
| 4 | Derby County | 1–1 | Liverpool | 26 February 1898 | |
| Replay | Liverpool | 1–5 | Derby County | 2 March 1898 |
The semi-final matches were both played on Saturday, 19 March 1898. The Nottingham Forest–Southampton match went to a replay, played the following Wednesday, when Nottingham Forest managed a 2–0 win. They went on to meet Derby County in the final at Crystal Palace.
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See main article: 1898 FA Cup Final.
The final took place on Saturday, 16 April 1898 at Crystal Palace. Just over 62,000 supporters attended the match. Arthur Capes opened the scoring for Nottingham Forest after 19 minutes. Forest's lead was maintained for only twelve minutes before Derby County equalised, through a goal from Steve Bloomer. Capes hit his second just before half-time, and Forest preserved the lead until the 86th minute, when McPherson scored a third Forest goal, to hand them their first ever FA Cup Victory.